We examined the role of exposure duration and scene complexity on the weapon focus effect (WFE). Memory for the mock crime was affected more by a weapon than an unusual but nonthreatening object. Threat reduced correct identifications when the event was short but not long; duration of the event did not interact with unusualness. Additionally, we found a WFE for target-absent lineup decisions, but only for the accomplice lineup, not the object-wielding perpetrator's lineup. We discuss the implications of these results for illuminating the mechanisms that elicit the WFE.